Gwyneth Paltrow's lawyers on Thursday questioned the daughter of a man suing the Oscar-winning actress over a 2016 ski collision about a series of personal emails and missing GoPro camera footage referred to as “the most important piece of evidence” in the trial.
Steve Owens, Paltrow's lawyer, asked one of the man's daughters, Polly Grasham, about email communication with her father over GoPro footage that has mysteriously disappeared and the possibility that the lawsuit was filed against Paltrow because she was famous.
“I'm famous … At what cost?” Terry Sanderson, the 76-year-old retired optometrist suing Paltrow, wrote in the subject line of an email sent to family, taking a swipe at the actress after the incident in which the two collided on a Park City, Utah, slope.
Paltrow has previously called the lawsuit an attempt to exploit her fame and celebrity.
Mr Owens asked Ms Grasham why her father sent messages referring to her fame.
“It matches his personality a little bit, making light of a serious situation,” Ms Grasham said of the email.
The GoPro footage of the accident has so far not been found nor has it been included as evidence for the trial.
Mr Sanderson is suing Paltrow for more than $300,000 in damages, claiming the Shakespeare in Love star skied recklessly into him on a beginner run at Deer Valley Resort seven years ago, breaking his ribs and leaving him with a concussion.
The actress has claimed Mr Sanderson caused the crash and has countersued for $1 and legal fees.
The trial took on an increasingly personal tone on the third day of proceedings when Mr Sanderson's daughter and a neuropsychologist painted a grim picture of the retired optometrist's life.
Giving evidence via video in a recorded deposition, Dr Alina Fong said that when she first met Mr Sanderson in 2017, he had “myriad” symptoms indicative of having suffered a concussion.
“It affected him on so many levels, especially for someone who was used to loving life … by the time he came to me, that was pretty much gone.”
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Gwyneth Paltrow in Park City courtroom in Utah for the start of a trial over a 2016 skiing crash. AP -
Terry Sanderson, 76, a retired optometrist is suing the actress accusing her of colliding with him at Deer Valley Resort in 2016. AFP -
Ms Paltrow and her lawyer Steve Owens. AP -
Mr Sanderson claims that the collision left him with brain damage and four broken ribs. EPA -
Mr Sanderson also claims Ms Paltrow was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they collided, leaving him on the ground. EPA -
The actress-turned-influencer covers her face as she exits the courtroom. EPA -
Ms Paltrow hides her face as she leaves the courtroom. AFP -
The actress outside the courtroom after the first day of testimony. AP
Dr Fong challenged the opinions of other medical experts employed by Paltrow’s defence, saying: “This has completely changed his life physically, emotionally, biologically — and he has been affected in all those domains.”
She said there was no evidence that Mr Sanderson was “faking” his injuries and he had been “an ideal patient”.
Mr Sanderson was not present during the detailing of his health problems.
Paltrow's lawyers questioned whether Ms Grasham and Dr Fong could say with certainty that Mr Sanderson's downturn was not a result of ageing or documented, pre-crash conditions.
They also questioned Ms Grasham about her father's anger problems, divorces and estranged relationship with another of his daughters, who is not giving evidence at the trial.
Paltrow is expected to be called to give evidence on Friday or early next week, when the eight-day trial continues.
Her lawyers have tried to represent Mr Sanderson's health problems as a natural of ageing rather than the results of a crash and indicated in opening statements that they plan to call Paltrow's husband Brad Falchuk and her two children, Moses and Apple, to the stand.
Agencies contributed to this report
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